Mixed Up
by Kaze Kimizu
Summary: Touru has an odd request. What will Yuujirou make of it? Has Touru gone off the deep end?
1. Mixed Up

"Yuujirou! Hey, Yuujirou!" Touru bounded down the hallway after his friend who, to no avail, was trying to avoid him.

"Would you knock it off, Touru? I said no! No means no! Why can't you understand that?" Yuujirou growled, barely avoiding a younger student coming out of the Science Room.

Finally, Yuujirou lost the dark-haired boy as he ducked into an empty classroom. He shut his eyes, trying to keep his breathing steady. What had gotten into Touru?

When he had first heard Touru's request, he was slightly shocked and more than a little confused. What sort of boy, even a cross-dressing boy, would ever ask another man to be his "date" to a prom in another high school? Oh sure, Touru wasn't gay. Yuujirou knew that for certain. Or did he? Either way, it was a logical request considering the situation.

Touru needed a date, or else his creepy little cousin would be his date. And which would be worse? His best friend or his little cousin?

Apparently, the thought never even crossed his mind to ask an actual GIRL to go with him. Then again, how many girls did Touru know in the first place?

It wasn't the fact that he would have to be in his Princess costume in public that made Yuujirou uncomfortable. It was the fact that he would have to be Touru's date all night. Of course, he DID sort of ask for it. Neither he nor Touru could shake the memory of their kiss, the one that got rid of Sayaka for a while. Yuujirou could fake being gay better than most of the guys he had seen. But what if Touru thought the kiss meant more?

Of course not. Touru was just stuck in a rut and needed a way out. And as his best friend, Yuujirou knew he had to stand by Touru's side and help him out. But to be his DATE?

The only reason Touru needed to go to the prom at the other high school was to pick up something from another guy there. Yuujirou had no idea what the "something" was, but he was sure it was important. There was no way that Touru would suffer through a humiliating night if he didn't have to. And having his best friend as his date would certainly be classified as humiliating. Then again, it wasn't HIM that would have to wear the dress.

"Oh hell," Yuujirou thought, "What can one night matter? I'll go with him, I'll wear the costume, and it'll be over. Then he'll owe me a favor later on." He took a deep breath and stepped back into the hallway.

"Yuujirou!" Touru yelled as he rounded the corner.

"All right, Touru, I'll go. What time do we need to leave?" Yuujirou sighed.

"Ten minutes ago. Hurry up!" Touru grabbed Yuujirou's arm and pushed him into the Home Ec. Room, where the Princess costumes were. A few minutes later, the two were out the door and on their way.

---LATER THAT NIGHT---

"Man, that was actually really fun." Yuujirou laughed, plopping down onto his bed, exhausted. He kicked off his Princess shoes and turned to Touru. "Did you ever see that guy you were supposed to meet?"

"I saw him." Touru nodded absentmindedly.

"And did you get what you needed?"

"I got it." Touru sat on the edge of his bed, deep in thought.

"Well?" Yuujirou pressed. Something seemed odd.

"Well nothing. That's all." Touru said.

"Well nothing? I just acted as your date for four hours for nothing? Come on, Touru, spill it. What is so important that you won't tell me?" Yuujirou sat up and pushed his hair out of his face.

"Well, it's...it's hard to explain." Touru closed his eyes. "The truth is, I sort of...well, I...oh hell, Yuujirou, I got you a present."

"A present?" Yuujirou blinked. "What kind of present? My birthday isn't for a few months."

"A present because..."

_"Please don't say you love me,"_ Yuujirou chanted in his head.

"...you've done so much for me and..."

_"I don't know if I can handle knowing that you like me, Touru."_

"...I really want to pay you back, you know? And well..."

_"Just stop, please. I don't want to hear you say it. Or do I? Oh hell, just say it and get it over with. This suspense is killing me."_

"...I thought now would be a good time..."

_"Say it. Please say it."_

"...because the truth is..."

_"You're killing me, Touru. Either say it, or don't."_

"...I've always felt like I owed you something, since you were so kind in showing me the ropes when I first became a Princess. I wanted to give you something to remember me by, even after we graduate and go off into the working world. So here you go, Yuujirou. Enjoy." Touru pulled a thin, brown package out of his bag. He slid it over to Yuujirou.

Yuujirou carefully peeled back the wrapping to reveal a photo album. He opened it and flipped through the pages. It was an entire photo album of the three Princesses at all stages of the year. The last ten pages were blank.

"I thought you could fill it with whatever other pictures you wanted. You do realize that being a Princess isn't going to last forever, right? This is a way you can remember how crazy it was this year. I made one for Mikoto, too. That guy I had to meet? He is a photographer. He touched up some pictures that I had. Other students would take pictures of us and give me a copy, so I passed them on to him." Touru glanced out the window. "If you don't like it, you can always take the photos out."

"No, I like it," Yuujirou grinned. "It isn't every day that you have proof of your existence as the opposite gender."

"You're right," Touru laughed, "I'm giving Mikoto an album tomorrow. I bet he burns it."

"You never know," Yuujirou said, tracing his finger over one of the pictures. "Mikoto is full of surprises. But we'd better get to bed. We've got an assembly in the morning, then we have to watch the teams practice. It's going to be a busy day."

"You're right." Touru yawned, crawling under the covers of his bed. He was asleep in minutes.

Yuujirou pulled the blankets tight under his chin and tried to fall asleep, but his thoughts kept him awake.

_"Did I really expect him to say that he loved me?"_ He thought. _"Did I...want him to?"_ He fell asleep with these questions racing through his mind. He never noticed that he was still holding the photo album, his hand resting on a picture of two Princesses in full costume, smiling like angels, ready to face a new challenge and a new day.


	2. Choked Up

"Mikoto. Can we talk?" Touru led the Eastern Princess by the arm to a secluded section of the school, where their adoring fans couldn't interrupt them.

"What's up?" Mikoto asked, glancing around to make sure they wouldn't be ambushed.

"I brought you a present," Touru smiled, "And I bet you're going to hate it."

He tossed a thin, brown package at Mikoto, who lunged back as if it were a bomb. He blinked a few times, then leaned over to pick it up. Just as Mikoto was about to unwrap the package, a young boy's face peeked around the corner.

"There she is!" The boy yelled behind him. "It's Princess Mikoto! And Princess Touru is with her!"

Several boys jumped out from behind the building, yelling "Princesses! Princess! Grace us with a smile! Come on, Princess!"

Before Touru could blink, Mikoto had dropped the present and run off like he was being shot at. Touru sighed and picked it up, before turning to the group of boys.

"My, my!" He laughed, "You seem to have startled us! I wish you all a wonderful day." He smiled a gorgeous smile, driving the young men crazy.

**"Ahhh, she's so beautiful!" "A smile like an angel!" "Smile for us again, please Princess?" "You brighten my day, Princess!" "My heart won't slow down!" **

"Please, please," Touru laughed lightly, "Won't you excuse me? I need to check on some things. It brings joy to my life to see you all."

**"Ahhh, Princess!" "Clear the way, Princess coming through!" "Princess, bless you! Bless you!"**

Touru pulled away from their attention and slipped out of sight.

_"Well, that was annoying."_ He thought, _"Now...where on earth did Mikoto run off to?"_

He picked a direction and started walking down the halls, glancing in all Mikoto's usual hiding spots. No luck.

"Hey, Touru! What's going on?" Yuujirou placed a hand on Touru's shoulder, scaring him half to death.

"Yuujirou! I didn't hear you. Don't sneak up on me like that!" Touru laughed, "Well, while you're here, want to help me find Mikoto? He ran like a rabbit when our following found us."

"Sure," Yuujirou chuckled, "I see he hasn't received his gift yet. I want to see his reaction. Shall I restrain him so he doesn't tear each picture up?"

"Please do." Touru joked.

The two Princesses set off in search of their friend, looking in every place they could think of. After more than an hour with no luck, they returned to their room.

"I was certain that we would find him hiding." Touru said, looking out the window, deep in thought.

"Yeah, well, we didn't." Yuujirou laid back on his bed. "I thought we'd hear his fan club screaming his name, but I never heard so much as a whisper. It's like he's completely disappeared."

"Well, he knows I have something for him. Maybe he will come looking for us? We can just stay in our room until he decides to show up." Touru decided. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Touru?"

"Yeah, Yuujirou?" Touru plopped down on his own bed.

"I have a question."

"Fire away." Touru grinned.

"Well..." Yuujirou paused, trying to think of what to say. "I just want to apologize."

"For what?" Touru sat up with questioning eyes. "For not finding Mikoto or...?"

"For how I handled myself that day. With Sayaka. It didn't help much, did it?" Yuujirou rolled over to his stomach and propped his head up to look at Touru. His hair fell over his eyes.

"No, it didn't." Touru sighed, thinking again of the trouble his little cousin had caused them. "But I've never blamed you. It's not like I could have handled the situation any better. To be honest, I was speechless. Sayaka was the furthest thing from my mind when she showed up."

"Well, I could have thought of something better." Yuujirou admitted. "I just didn't think of it. The...the kiss was the first thing that came to mind. I thought, maybe if we pretended to be gay, she would give up."

"The kiss." Touru repeated. "I was pretty mad about that. At the time."

"At the time?" Yuujirou was about to ask, just as Mikoto burst into the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Sanctuary!" He yelled, panting hard. "They've been chasing me all morning! It's crazy!" He slid to the floor, trying to catch his breath.

"Mikoto! There you are!" Touru jumped off the bed and grabbed the package off the table. He threw it at Mikoto, aiming just high enough to smack him square in the face.

"Ow!" Mikoto yelled, "Watch it! Oh, hey, what's this?"

"I told you I had a present for you," Touru teased, "Or did you forget while you were having such a fun time today?"

"Shut up! I was very busy, thank you very much!" Mikoto glared.

"Just open the damn present." Yuujirou laughed. Mikoto's clumsy hands fumbled with the tape before ripping the paper off the package. His eyes lit up when he saw the photo album.

"What's this?" He asked, sliding his hand over the cover. "It looks expensive!"

"It's a photo album, dummy. Open it." Touru tossed a pencil at him, which missed Mikoto by less than an inch.

He flipped back the cover and gasped at what he saw.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" He cried. "I CAN'T TAKE THIS WITH ME!" He flipped through the pages at rapid speed, getting more and more stressed as he saw the many pictures of the Princesses. Touru and Yuujirou fell to the floor laughing.

"It's not funny!" Mikoto complained, "It's humiliating! What if my girlfriend finds this?"

"Then you can ask her if she'll lend you her eyeliner." Yuujirou snickered.

"Yeah, and maybe she'd lend you her shoes and stockings too!" Touru added.

"YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP!" Mikoto yelled, sliding the book away from him. "You don't understand! You don't have girlfriends!"

"You're right, Mikoto." Touru said gently, "We don't understand. I didn't mean this present as an insult. I meant it as a gift, something you can remember this year by. You can take the Princess pictures out if you'd like. It's your gift to do as you please. I just wanted to thank you for all you've done for me."

Mikoto pulled the album closer to him and flipped through the pictures again. He smiled and ran his hand over a page of their most embarrassing costumes.

"Thanks. I really appreciate this. But please don't be offended if I keep it hidden." Mikoto laughed, "I'll hide it somewhere special. It's not every day that I have proof of my torture, is it?"

"Nope. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event, so you'd better like it!" Touru shook his finger at Mikoto. All three Princesses laughed until they couldn't breathe.

"I guess I'd better get back to my room. I'll talk to you two tomorrow. And Touru? Thanks again." Mikoto scrambled to his feet and scampered out of the room.

"Looks like you did well, Touru. He liked his gift." Yuujirou yawned and smiled.

"Yeah, I guess so." Touru grinned. "We need to get to sleep soon. Another busy day tomorrow, huh?"

"Of course. A Princess never has an off day." Yuujirou rolled his eyes playfully.

"Hey Yuujirou? What were you going to say before Mikoto came in?" Touru asked.

"...Nothing. I don't even remember." Yuujirou lied. "Goodnight, Touru. Thanks again for the present."

As the boys drifted off into slumber land, Yuujirou couldn't help but think the words he couldn't say.

_"At the time?"_ He thought, _"Does that mean you don't regret it now? Does that mean...you might have..._liked_ it?"_


	3. Messed Up

"Hey, Yuujirou!" Mikoto scrambled down the hall, dodging students and tripping over his platform shoes. Natasho was trying out a new Chibi-Lolita theme on the three Princesses, which included bright, puffy dresses, curled wigs, and tall shoes. Unfortunately for the Eastern Princess, his balance hadn't improved with his new looks.

"Mikoto! Watch ou--" Yuujirou sighed hopelessly as he watched Mikoto slip on one of his many petticoats, face-planting into the floor with a loud crash.

"Oww!" Mikoto whined. "I think I'm dying, Yuujirou!"

"Get up," Yuujirou laughed, offering a hand to the clumsy boy, "or else you'll have your fan club kissing your bruises."

Mikoto's eyes widened; he quickly pulled himself up and looked around frantically. Grabbing Yuujirou by the wrist, he dragged the Western Princess into a secluded classroom. Mikoto listened anxiously for a few moments before confirming their safety.

"No fan clubs in here," he grinned. "Now, Yuujirou, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure, ask me anything," Yuujirou leaned against the wall nonchalantly. "If I don't want to answer, I won't. Just don't cry."

"I won't cry!" Mikoto pouted, pushing his lower lip out. Yuujirou couldn't help but laugh.

"Hurry up and ask; I need to find Touru so we can discuss our schedules for the week. You've worked yours out already, right?"

"Yes, I have. But that's not the point! In fact, the question I wanted to ask you...it's about Touru," Mikoto sighed deeply. "Has he been acting strange lately?"

Yuujirou's eyes widened. _Could Mikoto know something...? Does he remember the...?_

"Not that I've noticed," Yuujirou answered, trying to keep his voice steady. "Why?"

"He's just seemed so distant since he saw his cousin last. I think something might have happened between them. Or maybe..." Yuujirou stopped focusing on Mikoto's words for a moment.

HAS Touru acted weird lately? Well, I suppose he has, but no more than normal. But since he saw Sayaka? No, it was before the last time he saw her. It was right after...oh, no...

"Yuujirou! Are you listening? I'm seriously concerned over here and you're daydreaming!" Mikoto frowned.

"I'm listening," Yuujirou snorted. "I just don't see what you're getting worked up over. Touru's fine. If it makes you feel better, though, I can ask him about it later."

"Would you? I mean, it's not like I'm a stalker or anything. But when I've been around a person as long as I've been around Touru, I can't help but pick up on his feelings."

"Maybe it's your feminine side coming out?" Yuujirou teased. Mikoto's face turned cherry-red as he loudly defended his masculinity. "I'm kidding, Mikoto. I'll talk to Touru. Don't worry about it."

"All right," Mikoto sighed. "I'm leaving it up to you, Yuujirou!"

As soon as Mikoto slipped out of the classroom, Yuujirou sank to the floor. _Touru HAD been acting strange, hadn't he? It doesn't make sense, _he thought, _Touru couldn't have been affected by that kiss..._

_Or could he?_

After dinner that night, Yuujirou and Touru settled down into their room for the night to discuss the week's schedule for Princess events. Since Mikoto had a date with Megumi on Tuesday, Yuujirou or Touru would have to take his place at the sporting event. After much debate, the boys decided to settle the argument with a game of cards. Touru shuffled the deck while Yuujirou sat in silence.

"That's a ten! I get it." Touru stole the flimsy card from Yuujirou's hands, grinning.

"You cheated! How did you know it was a ten? Well, fine. This one must be a seven!" Yuujirou made a grab for the card in his roommate's hand, but Touru pulled back suddenly.

"Wrong!" Touru laughed, sticking his tongue out.

"Damn." Yuujirou grumbled, shuffling his cards around and drawing another from the deck. "Hey, Touru, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Fire away." Touru slapped a pair of cards down on the floor.

"You've acted strangely lately. How come?" Yuujirou concentrated on the eight of hearts he held in his hand, unable to make eye contact with the other boy.

"I haven't noticed if I've acted strangely. Why do you think I've been acting that way?" Touru glanced up from his cards.

"I don't know. Mikoto's the one who pointed it out," Yuujirou frowned at the cards he held in his hand. He drew one slowly and slapped it on the floor. "And when he mentioned it, I guess I noticed it, too. It started right after...you know. The Sayaka thing."

"Oh." Touru frowned. He picked a card from his deck and slapped it on the floor.

_Say something,_ Yuujirou thought. _Say anything._

"So..." Yuujirou began, but froze. _What could I say?_

"You know," Touru sighed as he placed another card on the floor, "I wasn't as mad about the whole situation as I pretended to be. I mean, sure, I was pissed. But...I don't know. It was a long time ago, right Yuu? It's all the past."

"Yeah, right, just the past." Yuujirou smiled weakly, drawing another card.

"What happened in the past should stay in the past," Touru stated firmly, tossing all his cards to the floor. He locked eyes with Yuujirou, who slowly placed his cards on the ground as well. "Unless we turn the past into the present."

"...What?" Yuujirou's eyes widened as his mind registered Touru's words. He searched the other boy's eyes for a clue, some sort of hint as to what he was suggesting.

_He has that same look,_ Yuujirou thought, _the exact same look that I saw in my own eyes. He has the same look that I had when I looked into the mirror after our kiss. What is this feeling? What is that look? _

Passion.

Yuujirou remained frozen in place as Touru leaned toward him. Cards sprawled in all directions as the space between the two boys became less and less. With a hungry look in his eyes, Touru claimed Yuujirou's lips. Yuujirou closed his eyes, not believing what was happening. Colors exploded behind his eyelids, making him blind to all but passion. His senses shut down until all he could feel was Touru's lips pressed firmly on his own.

Slowly, Touru drew back, breaking the kiss. The feeling, however, lingered. Yuujirou found that he couldn't move. He could barely breathe. Touru seemed frozen in a similar state. The two held each other's gaze for a long spell soaking in the atmosphere, until a knocking on their door broke their trance.

"Hey! Touru! Yuujirou! Are you busy?" Mikoto opened the door and grinned at the two boys on the floor. "Hey, what are you guys doing?"

"We're..." Yuujirou's throat caught. He couldn't breathe.

"We're just playing cards." Touru smiled. "Do you need something, Mikoto?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to see if I was covered for Tuesday. I need to call Megumi before nine o'clock so I can tell her my plans." He looked back and forth from Yuujirou to Touru, baffled.

"You're covered. Go have fun with your precious girlfriend." Touru smirked.

"Thanks, I owe you!" Mikoto stuck his tongue out before bouncing out of the room to call Megumi.

As soon as the door closed, Yuujirou finally snapped out of his shock. His mind reeled. Touru smiled secretively at him, blushing a bit.

"You know," Touru laughed, "we never did decide who would take Mikoto's place on Tuesday."

"Touru..." Yuujirou whispered. "Let's both do it. Can we?"

"I was hoping that you would suggest that," Touru laughed. "Let's clean these cards up and go to bed. It's getting late."

Yuujirou glanced at the clock, which read 9:15 P.M. Nine o'clock wasn't nearly as late as Yuujirou normally went to bed, but he had a feeling that Touru wanted to fall asleep early tonight. The boys picked up their cards silently, each blushing slightly when their hands accidentally touched. Like newlyweds, they were afraid to say the wrong thing for fear of upsetting the other, so they stayed silent.

As they climbed into bed, they said their goodnights as usual, though neither believed it was a usual night. As sleep descended over Yuujirou's exhausted body, he heard the faintest sound of Touru's voice.

"Hey, Yuujirou...**consider this payback**. Sleep well…"


End file.
